Greetings! My name is Chef Susen Hunter and I am the nutritional consultant and advisor for the Hungry Geeks!  In addition, to being a Chef, I also hold a Master’s Degree in Education and have spent almost two decades as an advocate for natural health and teaching people how to be healthy through correct food choices and eating habits.

Without question, health and disease prevention are two of the most common concerns facing people from all corners of the planet today.  Yet, it is the belief of many people, including myself, that the answers to superior health and disease prevention are to be found in the food we eat, the teas we drink, and the natural plant-based supplements we can take.  In other words, the keys to superior health are within our reach….if only we can break free of what have become the “normal” ideas of food.

3 out of 5 of the leading causes of death today are directly linked to things that people put in their bodies.  From nicotine and alcohol to the standard high- animal fat, high-sugar diets to the over reliance on pre-packaged and processed foods that were made to last for months and months in warehouses and on grocery store shelves.

Medical researchers has shown over and over again and again that a diet high in animal fats and refined sugars, when combined with stress, environmental pollutants and a lack of regular exercise, leads to an overload of toxins in the body which trigger degenerative diseases.   These degenerative diseases include cancer, diabetes, and heart disease which combined kill more people globally every year than any war.  In addition, the average human body today is filled with an onslaught of  GMOs, pesticides, herbicides, chemical food additives, preservatives, and harmful dyes.  Then, there is also the consumption of irradiated foods and microwaved foods which destroy nutrients and add additional stress onto the body.  Finally, the so called “beauty” products the average person uses — shampoos, soaps, shaving creams, and lotions — are also filled with toxic chemicals that pass through the skin to damage cells or even enter the blood-stream.  When all this is taken into consideration, it is no wonder that the incidence of disease is on the rise worldwide!

However, there really is hope!  Millions of people are enjoying health and vitality by following an 80% raw food diet in conjunction with eating 15% plant-based Whole Foods and a 5% “processed” plant-based foods.  Of course, there is no room for refined sugar in any of this.  It really is that simple.  Raw foods accompanied by a sugar-free plant-based diet lifestyle has been shown to prevent (and even CURE!) major diseases and many other health conditions.  Furthermore, by also consuming additional herbs, spices, teas, and plant-based supplements, health and well-being can be achieved without ever relying on lab created chemical pharmaceuticals which often have side effects far worse that they problem they were meant to treat!

To better understand the foods involved, let me define both Raw Foods and Whole Foods as well as “processed”.

• plant-based Raw Foods are exactly what they sound like. These are the foods that can be eaten straight from the garden, the orchid, or the field in a raw state and include fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, fungi, and sprouts — and raw “mylks” made from nuts or seeds. Even some plant based oils can be raw if they were cold pressed and never heat treated and many fermented foods also qualify as raw. Raw foods are foods that are consumed uncooked (if heated, temp cannot exceed 104F), unprocessed, and as close to their natural state as possible.
• plant-based Whole Foods include those foods that are raw, unprocessed, and unrefined, but they also can be processed and refined by minimal methods such as by steaming, dehydrating, freezing, soaking, etc. The key here is that no matter how they may have been “processed”, there were no chemicals or possibly harmful ingredients added to them to preserve them, change their taste, change their taste, etc. This category includes such staples as beans and rices which require soaking/cooking and any vegetables that are steamed or baked before consumption. Similarly, herbs and spices used in hot teas can also fall into this category.
• plant-based “processed” foods are the smallest percentage of a healthy diet and should not exceed 5% of daily food consumed and even 3% of the diet should be the limit. This is the “cheat” category and includes pre-packaged plant based foods such as breads, sweet-breads, shelf stable nut/seed mylks, packaged non-dairy cheese, faux meats, and vegan-certified snacks.

Anyone with an interest in food and natural health has heard the following quote:

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food

Hippocrates

But, a better translation would be:

“Your nutrition is your pharmaco/medicine” because your nutrition truly is the simple answer to preventing disease and remaining healthy for your whole life.

What is it about plants?  It has been estimated that there are 25,000 different chemical compounds occur in fruits, vegetables, and other plants eaten by humans.  In addition to the macronutrients (carbs, protein, fats, and fiber and the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) plants contain carotenoids, flavonoids, organosulfur compounds,isothiocyanates, indoles, monoterpenes, phenolic acids, chlorophyll, and more.

Every year, we learn more and more about the health benefits of eating plants.  I certainly hope that you will consider changing your life and health by changing your diet.

If you are interested in learning more about how to take charge of your health through a plant-based diet — and how easy it can be! — please join our mailing list for news, information, recipes, videos, and nutritional seminars.